Falling

Jess is just starting her second semester of being a Junior in high school. To start the semester off, she volunteers to show the new kid around the school. Mainly because she gets to skip gym class, but also because she is intrigued by the idea of meeting someone new. Over the first month of school, Jess becomes really close friend with the new student, but who wouldn't become best friends with Louis Tomlinson. He's funny, entertaining, and not to mention cute, but Jess would never admit to thinking that. Louis is always there for Jess, especially when she gets heart shattering news that changes everything.

21. Twenty.

I opened one eye and saw Louis laying next to me, a smile plastered on his face. I groaned and rolled back over. “No.”

“Yes. It's nearly noon, and it's our second day of Spring Break. I want to do something fun,” Louis whined.

“It can't possibly be noon,” I said, sitting up.

I grabbed my phone off my bedside table and saw three texts from my mom. I read the messages, saying that she and my dad would be home a little after noon, just like I suspected.

“You have to leave,” I told Louis.

“Why? I'm so comfortable, and I want to make you breakfast.”

“My family is going to be home soon, and I don't really want them to see me in bed with a boy.”

“They won't think anything about it. They love me.”

“Yeah, but I don't think they will appreciate me spending the night with you without their permission. Plus, you're only in your underwear.

“Then we don't have to tell them I spend the night,” Louis smirked at me.

He rolled on top of me and attached his lips to mine.

I pushed him away from me. “Let me brush my teeth, then we can continue.”

I climbed out of my bed and ran to my bathroom, wanting nothing more than to kiss Louis at the moment. It was nice waking up to him, being able to kiss him at anytime that I wanted to. While I was in the bathroom, I put on my vanilla chapstick, knowing that Louis loved it.

“Hey, Jess,” Louis called.

“Hold your horses!” I yelled back, leaving the bathroom. “I get that you want to make out, but morning breath makes me-- Oh, God.”

“From the looks of things, he's more than a friend now. Louis, when Jess finishes beating you up for planning that joke, you two can come on downstairs,” my dad said, patting me on the back on his way out of my room.

“You're such a jerk,” I told Louis.

“It was the perfect opportunity to play a prank on you, I had to take it. Your dad came into your room, which was very awkward, by the way, thanks for leaving me in here all alone, and he knew right away that we were together. So, I came up with the idea to make it seem like your dad was mad, and it was worth it. You should have seen the look on your face,” Louis laughed.

“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes. “You, I went to brush my teeth so we could kiss, and I even put on that vanilla chapstick.”

“Why are you still standing? Get over here, woman,” Louis said, holding his hands out to me.

“Okay, but only for a bit,” I said, straddling his waist.

Louis' arms wrapped around my back, pulling me impossibly close, and we kissed. I savored the way his lips felt against mine, the way his touch left my skin tingling, the way his hair felt between my fingers. Louis laid down on his back; I got lost in the sensation of his body under mine, my hips ever so slightly moving against his.

I picked his shirt up off the floor and tossed it to him. I watched as he slid it over his head and onto his body.

“There's no need to stare, Jess. You might start to drool.”

“Funny.”

“I try,” Louis smiled.

He walked over to me and pressed his lips to mine in a chaste kiss.

“I'm serious, though. I love kissing you,” I told him, hooking my arms around his neck to put him to my lips. “Like, why do drugs when you can kiss a Louis Tomlinson?”

“Man, you should be president. That's a great campaign slogan,” he smiled down at me.

I looked int his eyes and smiled back, once again overwhelmed by the wave of emotions that rolled over me. I kissed him one last time and took his hand in mine to lead him downstairs. My parents were sitting in the living room, waiting for Louis and me to make our way into the room. They watched us as we walked into the room, making me feel uncomfortable, and sat down on the couch across from where they were sitting.

“So, I'm going to guess that you two are dating now?” My mom started out by saying.

I nodded.

“For how long?” Dad asked.

“Almost a week,” Louis responded.

“And you didn't call to tell me?” Mom asked with a smile. “This is so great.”

“I figured that I could tell you when you guys got home,” I responded with a shrug.

“Well, I'm very happy for you guys,” she smiled.

“Me, too. Just be warned: If I see you two getting a little too close, I will make things really awkward,” my dad said.

“Thank you, dad,” I rolled my eyes. “We'll be in my room.”

“We're going to go see Jared. I dropped John off at his friend's house for a sleepover, so you don't have to worry about watching him. Let me know if you guys end up leaving the house,” Mom replied.

I nodded and stood up to give my parents a hug, and then proceeded to drag Louis to my room.

“Was your dad serious?” Louis asked, sitting down on my bed.

He reached out to take my hands in his and pulled me closer to him. Louis placed his hands on my hips as I stood between his legs, my fingers playing with his hair.

“Scary serious,” I giggled.

“Then it's a good thing that he's leaving the house,” Louis wiggled his eyebrows.

“I'd rather watch television and eat food.”

“Of course you would.”

“I can't help it.”

“We better go get you some food then,” Louis stood up.

“Will you give me a piggy back ride?”

“Of course, my lady,” he said, bending down in front of me so I could get on his back.

Louis laughed, his hands placed underneath my thighs as he walked out of my room. I rested my head on his shoulder. I love the way he smells; It's something special, something I can only describe as Louis.

“You smell good,” I whispered in his ear.

“You tell me that all the time.”

“It's true.”

“What do I smell like?”

“Comfort.”

“Good description,” he laughed, walking into the kitchen. He walked over to the cabinet and opened the doors. “What would you like?

“Popcorn,” I wiggled on his back.

“I could've guess that,” Louis chuckled.

He grabbed a bag of popcorn from the box, placing the bag in the microwave, then backing up to the counter so I could sit down on it. He stood between my legs, facing me, his hands running up and down my thighs. He leaned in to kiss me, his lips moving with mine slowly.

“If you burn my popcorn, I'm breaking up with you,” I warned him. He rolled his eyes and tried to kiss me again, only to be pushed away. “I'm serious.”

“You're no fun.”

“I like popcorn.”

“More than you like kissing your boyfriend?” He pouted.

“Yes,” I giggled, grabbing him from behind his neck to pull him to my lips.

His hands gripped my hips, his fingers digging into my skin as I ran my fingers through his hair, lightly pulling at his locks. He pulled me closer to him, his hips meeting mine.

Then my dad walked in.

Louis and I jumped apart from each other as the sound of my dad clearing his throat. He laughed at the horrified look on Louis' face. “Did I not sat that I would make you feel awkward if I saw you getting too close?”

“Mission accomplished, dad. I thought you left?”

“We did, but your mom forget her wallet.”

“Okay. Take it and leave.”

“Am I interrupting something?” Dad laughed.

I rolled my eyes again, motioning for my dad to hurry up. He grabbed my mom's wallet off the counter, threw up a peace sign, and left the room. I rolled my eyes and turned to Louis.

“You burned my popcorn.”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“No. I feel like my dad walking in on us was punishment enough.”

“That was so weird,” Louis shook his head.

I hopped off the counter to grab the burnt bad of popcorn out of the microwave and threw it away.

“I don't really feel like eating popcorn anymore,” I told him. “Will you take me to McDonald's for french fries?”

“Sure.”

“Yay!” I cheered, skipping to the front door.

Louis followed behind me, placing a kiss on my cheek as he got his keys and lead me to his car.

Louis, by instinct, held his hand out for me to hold, my finger sliding between his without hesitation. It was a routine that I was used to but still brought me a comfort that I could never deny. I watched him drive, admiring the way his nose looked from the side. It was very small compared to the rest of his features, making him look younger, in way. His jawline was accentuated from the side, as well. I ran my fingers over the smooth skin, admiring the way his eyes wrinkled when he smiled at my touch. His eyelashes seemed longer from this angle, long and dark, as if he was born with fake eyelashes that would never fall off. Louis was easy to look at and forget about your surroundings; it was easy to get lost in him.

When we arrived at McDonald's, Louis leaned over to me and placed a small kiss on my lips before getting out. It was another instinctual habit of Louis' that made me feel so loved and so at home when I was with him. Louis told me to take seat while he ordered. I watched Louis stand in line, his hands in his pockets while he rocked on the heels of his feet. I pulled out my phone and sent him a random emoticon, the 'see no evil' monkey, and watched as he received it. I saw him dig his phone out of his pocket and smile as what I had sent him, this thumbs moving across his screen as he texted me back the dragon head on the plate emoticon. I sent him back the policeman, received the bikini, and sent the shrimp. Then, Louis sent me the hamburger, fires, and a thumbs up. I sent back the couple kissing and locked my phone when I saw him coming back to where I was sitting.

“I love you.”

The words slipped from my mouth as if they were water flowing from an open source. They felt so natural and perfectly formed as I said them, perfectly meant for Louis to hear.

Louis looked at me, his eyes wide with wonder and a tint of adoration, as he sat down across from me.

“That was unexpected,” Louis cleared his throat.

“Sorry about that,” I cleared my throat as well. “I don't know why I said that. I mean, it's not like I don't feel that way about you, because I do, it kind of slipped out. And I don't know if I'm in love with you yet. And I say 'yet', because I know that I'm falling in love with you, because you're you, and I love that. I love you,” I could feel my cheeks turning red at my rambling.

“I love you, too,” Louis said with a wonderful smile that filled me with such a strong amount of love that I felt like I was floating away.

“I don't really know what to say now, but I'm very happy, and my stomach keeps doing all these flips, and I feel the need to run around screaming.”

“I know what you mean,” Louis laughed. “Would you like your Happy Meal?”

“Yes, please.”

He handed me the box, and we ate our meals. I wanted to hear him say those words again, those words that sent me to the moon and back. What really made it special was that nothing felt weird. Nothing changed in that moment, except that my heart was beating fast and Louis' cheeks were red. I didn't feel any regret in saying it. I knew that he was the one that I should share those word with. He would be the only one to ever hear my say those words because I could see a forever with him.

“Why are you staring at me?” Louis asked with a laugh.

“Oh, sorry,” I giggled. “I was just thinking.”

“What about?”

“How much I don't want to be in a dirty McDonald's.”

“Do you want to go?”

I nodded.

Louis' hand found mine as we made our way out of the fast food place and to his car. As Louis was leaning over to buckle his seat belt, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him to my lips.

“I needed to do that,” I told him, kissing him again.

“I'm not complaining,” he laughed, his fingers, once again, sliding between mine.

“I love you.”

“And I love you.”

I looked over at Louis with a smile and placed a kiss on his cheek. “You give me butterflies. Actually, they're more like pterodactyls.”

“Sounds painful.”

“You get used to it.”

I smiled and shut my eyes as Louis drove on. Being with him spread a wonderfully warm feeling through my chest. A feeling that couldn't just be described as happiness, because it was so much more than that. It was giggled threatening to spill out of my mouth, tingles in my fingers and toes, and heart eye emoticons. It was fuzzy socks, thick sweaters, and warm blankets on a fall night. It was taking off your skinny jeans and putting on sweatpants after a long day. It was comfort and love and home. He was home.